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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Lotus in Indian Art
In the vast repertoire of Indian ornamental motifs, among the symbols and devices that recur in traditional art and architecture, the lotus occupies pride of place. Unlike western art, in which great emphasis is laid on photographic realism and the naturalistic treatment of human and animal forms, the main concerns in Indian art are profoundly spiritual and religious. Each and every object portrayed in Indian art has a religio-spiritual and symbolic signiﬁcance. Among the ﬂowers, the lotus is the most preferred symbol, not because of its beautiful form, but because of its profound symbolism. We all know that this ﬂower grows in muddy waters, but remains unaffected by it. Whether white, blue (nilotpala), rose pink or white and pink, its petals evoke the sentiments of purity in everybody’s mind. According to Hindu philosophy, human beings ought to live like a lotus ﬂower in this wily, unscrupulous world, completely detached and pure hearted, untouched by evil forces.
Rising from the depths of water and expanding its petals and leaves on the surface, through its appearance, it gives proof of the life-supporting power of the all nourishing abyss. This is the reason why a lotus ﬂower in full bloom is used as the pedestal or throne support of all the deities — Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. Invariably, they are shown seated or standing on a fully open lotus ﬂower (padmu pitha) or on a double petalled lotus (mahambuja). This has symbolic connotations: the deities are represented in their transcendental, subtle forms, i.e. the spiritual body which is weightless. If seated with one leg dangling down, then also the deity’s foot rests upon the lotus pedestal or cushion.
Numerous Hindu deities are shown holding a lotus ﬂower, for example, Vishnu who preserves the universe, is invariably holding the padmu (lotus) in one of his four hands. Vishnu’s spouse Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, Shiva’s consort Parvati, Surya the Sun god, the Bodhisattva Padmapani — all these deities hold a lotus ﬂower in their hands. In fact, even the personiﬁed sacred river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna always hold a long stemmed lotus, characterized by a long stalk, the undulations of which match the contours of their elegantly standing ‘S’-shaped bodies. In Indian paintings, whether miniature ones or frescoes, the flowing waters of the river or a pond are always indicated by lotus flower and their broad leaves floating on their surfaces. This tradition has persisted from ancient times. In the world renowned Ajanta caves frescoes, the lotus pond is an alluring part of the landscape, and continued to be so in subsequent centuries till the dawn of 20th century. In Indian paintings, whether miniature ones or frescoes, the flowing waters of the river or a pond are always indicated by lotus flower and their broad leaves floating on their surfaces. This tradition has persisted from ancient times. In the world renowned Ajanta caves frescoes, the lotus pond is an alluring part of the landscape, and continued to be so in subsequent centuries till the dawn of 20th century.www.mysteriesofindia.com

An amazing temple in India.
Meenakshi Amman Temple (also called: Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Tiru-aalavaai and Meenakshi Amman Kovil) is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River] in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2,500 year old city of Madurai and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature though the present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 CE. It houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50m in height. The tallest is the southern tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high, and two golden sculptured vimanas, the shrines over the garbhagrihas (sanctums) of the main deities. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 on Fridays, and receives an annual revenue of sixty millionINR. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple. Meenakshi (IAST Mīnākṣī Tamil மீனாட்சி) is an avatar of the Hindu goddess Parvati - the consort of Shiva, one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her. The name "Mīnachchi" means fish-eyed and is derived from the words "mīna" meaning fish and "akṣi" meaning eyes. The lady goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, not Sundareswarar, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. According to Hindu legend, in order to answer the prayers of the second Pandya king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai, Parvati appeared out of the holy fire of the Putra Kameshti Yagna (sacrifice for childhood) performed by the king. According to another legend, the goddess herself gave notice to Kanchanamalai in one of her previous births that Kanchanamalai would have the privilege of mothering the goddess. The happy king named the girl "Tadaatagai" and as the heir to the throne, Tadaatagai was trained carefully in all the 64 sastras, the fields of science.
The Meenakshi temple is believed to have been founded by Indra (king of Deva celestial deities) while he was on a pilgrimage to atone for his misdeeds. He felt his burden lifting as he neared the swayambu lingam (self formed lingam, a representation of Shiva used for worship in temples) of Madurai. He ascribed this miracle to the lingam and constructed the temple to enshrine it. Indra worshipped Shiva, who caused golden lotuses to appear in the nearby pool. Tamil literature speaks of the temple over the last two millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Saiva philosophy, mentioned this temple as early as the 7th century, and described the deity as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple is believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed.
The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559–1600) under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayak Dynasty and the founder of the Poligar System. The original design by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak (1623–55). He took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the Vasantha Mandapam for celebrating vasanthorsavam (spring festival) and Kilikoondu Mandapam (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and Meenatchi Nayakar Mandapam were built by Rani Mangammal.
Wikipedia

References of Kumari Kandam in Puranas and Ancient Tamil Literature.
Last Post, for more information, please see Google, or your favorite library. Thanks to our fans that like these interesting articles, and our Page. In Tamil literary works Aintiram, Silappadhikaram, Manimekhalai and SaivamPaayanam and in Sanskrit literary work Bhagavatha Purana, there are information about Tamil sage Mayan, who wrote one of the Tamil Sangam literary works Aintiram, and was part of Tamil Sangams and lived in Kumari Kandam.
This sage also wrote other Tamil literature Pranava Vedham (which is called by Vyasa as the predecessor of four Vedas in Bhagavatha Purana), MayaMatham (Book about Architecture, Sculptures and Vasthu) and SuriyaNool (Book about Astronomy and Astrology), one Tamil grammatical work, etc. According to Aintiram, Kumari Kandam was a land which has huge area and the PalThuli river (PalThuli – Divided grammatical form of Pahruli according to Tamil grammar which means many drops), one of the Kumari Kandam rivers, originated from PeruMalai(means big mountain – represents MeruMalai – Meru Mountain). It also tells that there were 49 lands in Kumari Kandam.
Tamil literary work SaivamPaayanam gives information about Kumari Kandam and its territories. It also mentions the existence of PeruMalai (MeruMalai – Meru Mountain) in Kumari Kandam.
•The Tamil literary work Manimekhalai, mentions about multiple Tsunamis in the ancient city of Poompuhar and was swallowed up by the sea. This event is supported by archeological finds of submerged ruins off the coast of modern Poompuhar.
•The Tamil poetic literature Tamil vidu thoothu describes the Topography of Kumari Kandam. It is also said that the Pahruli river was excavated to irrigate the mountain valley by the Pandiyan King Nediyon.
The third Sangam literary work Purananooru talks about Kumari Kandam and the river Pahruli which was there in Kumari Kandam.
•The Tamil Grammar work Nannool talks about the sunken country Kumari Kandam.
•The Tamil literature SiruKakkaip Paadiniyaar talks about the Kumari Kandam.
•There are references for Kumari Kandam present in Kantapuranam, which mentions it as one of the nine continents of old times, or one of the nine divisions of India and the only region not to be inhabited by barbarians.
•According to the Matsya Purana, Manu was the king of Dravidadesa (South Indian country) in Kumari Kandam.
•There are references for Kumari Kandam present in Garuda Puranam. Also, There are scattered references in Sangam literature, such as Kalittokai 104, to how the sea took the land of the Pandiyan Kings, after which they conquered new lands to replace those they had lost.
References of Kumari Kandam (Lemuria) in Chinese & Greek Literature
In some of the ancient Chinese chronicles, there are references to Pahruli river, Peru river and Meru Mountain (with 49 peaks) from where the Kumari River, Peru river and Pahruli river were originated (according to Tamil literature). It is said that Chinese laborers were employed by the Pandiyan King and when they went down the mines they appeared like a huge army of small ants. Therefore, they were called pon thondi erumbukal (Gold mining ants). This is also confirmed by ancient Chinese chronicles.
Megasthenes (ca. 350 – 290 BCE), a Greek ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period, authored the work Indika, the account of his travels in India. In this work, he says that Taprobane (old name of Sri Lanka) was separated from the mainland (Indian Peninsula) by a river, which means that during the period of Megasthenes, Sri Lanka could have been connected to Indian Peninsula by a small landmass in between them and was divided by Thamirabarani River (Porunai River).
The current Thamirabarani River in Tamil Nadu flows into the sea suggests that the Thamirabarani River would have reached Sri Lanka through a now-submerged landmass existed between Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka during the period of Megasthenes.
Archaeological Data supporting existence of Kumari Kandam.
The marine archeological findings at Poompuhar (Tamil Nadu) by marine archeological research conducted by the National Institute of Marine Archeology (Goa) reveals that much of the town of Poompugar (Tamil Nadu) was washed away by progressive erosion and a Tsunami around 300 BC.
•Ancient Pottery dating back to the 4th century BC have been discovered off shore by marine archeologists east of this town. The timeline of this Tsunami also coincides with the timeline (after the period of Megasthenes visit to India) of the submergence of landmass which was claimed to be existed between Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka according to Megasthenes accounts
The geological survey reveals that most of the places in the land under the sea, where Kumari Kandam is claimed to be existed, has the maximum depth of the sea of 200 meters. In some of the places, the maximum depth of the sea is 2000 meters. Since, these areas has low sea depth, there are more possibilities to exists a now-submerged land in which people lived.
•Languages spoken by Australian tribes, African tribes, Andaman and Nicobar tribes and Lakshadweep tribes are identical to Tamil language. So, there are high possibilities that there might be a connecting land which exists in between India, Australia and Madagascar
•Types of plants, trees and animals present in Africa and Madagascar are identical with that of in India. So, there might be a connecting land which exists in between India and Madagascar.
According to th Kumari Kandam tradition, over a period of about just 11,000 years, the Pandyans, a historical dynasty of Tamil kings, formed three Tamil Sangams, in order to foster among their subjects the love of knowledge, literature and poetry. These Sangams were the fountain head of Tamil culture and their principal concern was the perfection of the Tamil language and literature. The first two Sangams were not located in what is now South India but in antediluvian Tamil land to the south which in ancient times bore the name of Kumari Kandam, literally the Land of the Virgin or Virgin Continent. The First Sangam (Mutaṟcaṅkam) is described as having been held at the Pandiyan King’s capital city, Madurai (Kadal Konda Then Madurai – which means Southern Madurai which was submerged in the sea. The old Madurai was called as Southern Madurai to differentiate it with the capital city of Madurai of third Sangam), which lasted a total of 4440 years, and had 549 members, which supposedly included some gods of the Hindu pantheon such as Siva, Kubera and Murugan. A total of 4449 poets are described as having composed songs for this Sangam. There were 89 Pandiyan kings starting from Kaysina valudi to Kadungon were decedents and rulers of that period.
If credence is given to this commentary, then the beginning of first Sangam should be placed somewhere in 9000 B.C.
Most of the lands of Kumari Kandam were submerged in the sea during first devouring of the land by the sea. Then, the Pandiyan King and the remaining people migrated to the remaining land of Kumari Kandam and the king moved his capital to Kapatapuram. At the same time, the present location of Tamil Nadu was ruled by Chera, Chola, and 46 other small kingdoms.
The Second Sangam (Irandaam Caṅkam, Iṭaicaṅkam) was convened in Kapatapuram, the then capital city of Pandiyan King. This Sangam lasted for 3700 years and had 59 members, with 3700 poets participating. There were 59 Pandiyan kings starting from Vendercceliyan to Mudattirumaran were decedents and rulers of that period.
This city was also submerged in sea. Ramayana and Arthasastra of Kautalya corroborates the existence of a city named kavatapuram. There is a reference to a south Indian place called kavata by sugriva in a verse which runs something like ‘having reached Kavata suitable for Pandiya‘. The place kavata is also mentioned by Kautalya (also known as Acharya Chanakya) in Arthasastra.
Having lost the complete Kumari Kandam, the Pandiyan King conquered the part of lands belonging to the Chola and Chera kings (Silapathikaram, Maturaikkandam, verses 17-22) and made Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, as his capital and in later times moved his capital to the current city of Madurai.
The Third Sangam (Moondraam Caṅkam, Kaṭaicaṅkam) was purportedly located in the current city of Madurai, the then capital city of Pandiyan King, and lasted for 1850 years. There were 49 Pandiyan kings starting from Mudattirumaran (who came away from Kabadapuram to present Madurai) to Ukkirapperu valudi were decedents and rulers of that period.
The academy had 49 members, and 449 poets are described as having participated in the Sangam.
It is the legendary sunken continent, according to many of the ancient extant Tamil literatures and some of the Sanskrit literatures. Almost 100 years back tamil nationalists came to identify and associate Kumari Kandam with Lemuria, a hypothetical “lost continent” posited in the 19th century to account for discontinuities in biogeography.
Located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans but now sunken, this sunked continent is believed to be the connections between Africa to South India, through Madagascar. Many of the earliest extant Tamil literary works and their commentaries, mentions a Tamil continent called Kumari Kandam, which was ruled by Pandiyan Kings for 10,000 years, before getting submerged in the Indian Ocean, south of present-day Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of India.
References of Kumari Kandam from some of the Tamil literary sources
According to Silappadhikaram, one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature written in 2nd century CE, states that the cruel sea took the Pandiyan’s land, part of which was present between the rivers Pahruli and the mountainous banks of the Kumari. These rivers are said to have flowed in a now-submerged land.
Adiyarkkunallar, a 12th-century CE commentator on the epic, explains this reference by saying that there was once a land to the south of the present-day Kanyakumari, which stretched for 700 kāvatam from the Pahruli river in the north to the Kumari river in the south. The modern equivalent of the measurement kāvatam, which is also known as kātam in Tamil, is a distance of 6.25 miles (10.06 km).
Kanakkathikaram, a 15th century Tamil Mathematical literary work which is in the form of poems, defines the length of 1 kāvatam(1 kātam) as 24,000 muzham (33,000 feet, 6¼ miles) and it also defines the time taken to cover it which is the distance that can be covered by normal walk in 7½ Nāzhigai or 1 Sāmam (equivalent to 3 hours). So, the distance of 700 kāvatam is equivalent to 4,375 miles (7,041 km) in modern day measurements.

This land was divided into 49 territories, which he names as Seven coconut territories (elutenga natu), Seven Madurai territories (elumaturai natu), Seven old sandy territories (elumunpalai natu), Seven new sandy territories (elupinpalai natu), Seven mountain territories (elukunra natu), Seven eastern coastal territories (elukunakarai natu) and Seven dwarf-palm territories (elukurumpanai natu). All these lands, he says, together with the many-mountained land that began with KumariKollam, with forests and habitations, were submerged by the sea. Two of these territories were supposedly parts of present-day Kollam and Kanyakumari districts.
The 7th century CE commentary written by Nakkīranār for the Tamil literary work Iraiyanar Akapporul, gives the list of Pandiyan kings who ruled the Kumari Kandam. It also gives information about the three Tamil Sangams (assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets who do research on Tamil language and also creates literary works) which spans about 10,000 yearsKumari Kandam (Tamil: குமரிக்கண்டம்) refers to a hypothetical lost continent with an ancient Tamil-Kerala civilization, located south of present-day India, in the South Indian Ocean. Alternative names and spelli...ngs include Kumarikkantam and Kumari Nadu. According to the modern science, Kumari Kandam is a pseudo-scientific concept. There have been references to it being the lost city of Atlantis that is propounded to have been submerged in the ocean in an unknown location.

In the 19th century, a section of the European and American scholars speculated the existence of a submerged continent called Lemuria, to explain geological and other similarities between Africa, India and Madagascar. The plate tectonics theory is that Indian continent separated from Australia and pushed towards Asia thereby creating the Himalayas while Madagascar became part of Africa. A section of Tamil revivalists adapted, connecting it to the Pandyan stories of lands lost to the ocean, as described in ancient Tamil and Sanskrit literature. According to these writers, an ancient Indo-Tamilian civilization existed on the Lemuria, before it was lost to the sea in a catastrophe. In the 20th century, the Tamil writers started using the name "Kumari Kandam" to describe this submerged sub-continent. Although the Lemuria theory was later rendered wrong and obsolete by the continental drift theory, the concept remained popular among the Tamil revivalists of the 20th century. According to them, Kumari Kandam was the place where the first two Tamil literary academies (sangams) were organized during the Pandyan reign. They claimed Kumari Kandam as the cradle of civilization to prove the antiquity of Tamil language and cultures. It has to be noted that the current city of Kanya Kumari exists at the southern tip of India and it was part of state of Kerala (and its capital) until the state wide division of land after getting Independence from British Raj - when it was transferred to the governance under Tamil Nadu, the neighboring eastern state to Kerala. Kumari Kandam in literature expands into the southern Indian ocean joining Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka into one huge land mass. There are similarities of interest in language, foods, customs and appearance of folks belonging to these three regions to this day.

Indian mathematician Aryabhata, among his many accomplishments, he discovered long before the west did, the approximate value of this Irrational and also famous Transcendental Number.
Aryabhata (Sanskrit: आर्यभट; IAST: Āryabhaṭa) or Aryabhata (476–550 CE) was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the Āryabhaṭīya... (499 CE, when he was 23 years old) and the Arya-siddhanta.

Aryabhata worked on the approximation for pi (\pi), and may have come to the conclusion that \pi is irrational. In the second part of the Aryabhatiyam (gaṇitapāda 10), he writes: caturadhikam śatamaṣṭaguṇam dvāṣaṣṭistathā sahasrāṇām ayutadvayaviṣkambhasyāsanno vṛttapariṇāhaḥ. "Add four to 100, multiply by eight, and then add 62,000. By this rule the circumference of a circle with a diameter of 20,000 can be approached."
This implies that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is ((4 + 100) × 8 + 62000)/20000 = 62832/20000 = 3.1416, which is accurate to five significant figures.
It is speculated that Aryabhata used the word āsanna (approaching), to mean that not only is this an approximation but that the value is incommensurable (or irrational). If this is correct, it is quite a sophisticated insight, because the irrationality of pi was proved in Europe only in 1761 by Lambert.
After Aryabhatiya was translated into Arabic (c. 820 CE) this approximation was mentioned in Al-Khwarizmi's book on algebra.

Kumbhalgarh – The Great Wall of India
The wall that surrounds the ancient fort of Kumbhalgarh is one of the best-kept secrets in India, and perhaps the world. Protecting a massive fort that contains over 300 ancient temples, the wall was constructed by Rana Kumbha in 15th century.
Often referred to as Kumbhalgarh Wall or simply as Kumbhalgarh Fort as a whole, the wall is perhaps best known by its most sensational — and fitting — name: The Great Wall of India. This is appropriate, as the wall extends over 36 Kilometers around the perimeter of the fort, making it the second-longest continuous wall on the planet after the Great Wall of China.
Standing majestically on the high ridge with elevation of 1100 metres (3600 feet) above sea level, it represent the past glory of the Rajput rulers. The wall, which runs through mountain cliffs and valleys, is a great example of architectural brilliance of the Rajput era proved by the fact that in spite of being around 700 years old it is still intact and is in a good shape. Kumbhalgarh is located in southern Rajasthan in western India. During the time of Rana Kumbha, the kingdom of Mewar extended from Ranthambore to Gwalior, including vast tracts of present-day Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Out of the 84 forts in his dominion, Rana Kumbha is said to have designed 32 of them, of which Kumbhalgarh is the largest and most elaborate. The fort was built to serve a refuge for Mewar rulers in times of strife. The great wall was built around the fort to protect it from invasion. The wall is massive, and breathtakingly majestic as it snakes through valleys and along mountaintops. Although at certain points the walls look fairly thin, in some places they are over 15 feet wide and beautifully masoned with thousands of stone bricks and decorative flourishes along the top. The fort is also protected by 13 mountain peaks of Aravalli range. The fort can be accessed by any of the seven gates which are named as Aret Pole, Hanuman Pole, Ram Pole, Vijay Pole, Nimboo Pole and Bhairon Pole
More than 360 temples are protected within the precincts of the fort. Sixty or so of the temples are Hindu, and the others are Jain temples.
It is said that in the days of the Rana Kumbha, the walls held so many lamps that consumed fifty kilograms of ghee (oil) and a hundred kilograms of cotton to provide light for the farmers who worked during the nights in the valley.
The Fort is also known for its famous palace that resides on the top of structure. This beautiful palace is known as ‘Badal Mahal‘ or the Palace of Cloud. It is also accredited to be the birth place of great warrior Maharana Pratap, who was one the of the greatest warrior kings of Mewar.
It is said that the history of the place where Kumbhalgarh Fort was built dates back to the 2nd century, the Mauryan Era of ancient India.
Yet, despite its size and its history, the Great Wall of India is almost unknown outside its region.
This fort is inducted in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the month of June, 2013 along-with five other hill forts of Rajasthan.
Occupied until the late 19th century, the fort is now open to the public. It is the most important fort in Mewar after Chittorgarh. The fort also provides a panoramic view of the countryside. From the top of the fort one can see a beautiful view of the walls surrounding the fort in the midst of the Aravalli Ranges. The sand dunes of the Thar desert are also visible from the walls.
Tourists are warned that some of the lesser travelled areas of the wall should not be climbed. Ancient defence mechanisms and traps, although mostly disabled, are still assumed to exist in some of its more remote positions. Those wishing to explore the miles of ruins on their own are warned that accidents can happen.http://www.mysteryofindia.com/…/kumbhalgarh-great-wall-indi…

Telhara is a village in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the site of a Buddhist monastery in ancient India. Located about 33 km from the ruins of the famous Nalanda University, Telhara could be ‘Tilas-akiya’ or ‘Tiladhak’, the place Chinese travellers Hiuen Tsang visited and wrote about during his travels through India in 7th century AD? So far, there were only vague references but recent excavations at the mound suggest that Telhara was indeed an ancient university, older than Nalanda and Vikramshila universities. Ruins of Telhara University were found in January 2014 during excavation of a 45-foot high mound. Based on previous findings archaeologists placed the Telhara University in the Gupta period between fourth and seventh century. But during a recent excavation at Telhara site archaeologists have discovered bricks that were used to lay the ancient university’s foundation. Bricks’ dimension 42x32x6 cm and dates back to first century AD to Kushan Empire. That is a strong evidence that the Telhara University is older than fourth century’s Nalanda University and seventh century’s Vikramshila University.
The Telhara project that started on December 26, 2009, has so far come across over 1,000 priceless finds from 30-odd trenches — seals and sealing, red sandstone, ancient pottery, bronze and stone statues of Buddha and several Hindu deities, miniature bronze and terracotta stupas and statues and figurines that go back to the Gupta (320-550 AD) and Pala (750-1174 AD) empires. The government intends to set up a museum to display the antiques found from the site.
But the 2.6-acre mound has now thrown up the most tantalizing find yet — evidence of a three-storeyed structure, prayer hall and a platform to seat over 1,000 monks or students of Mahayana Buddhism mentioned by Hiuen Tsang.

Chinese traveller Heuen Tsang visited Telhara in the 7th century AD and he describes Telhara or Tilas-akiya as containing a number of monasteries or viharas, about seven in number, accommodating about 1,000 monks studying in Mahayan. These buildings, he says, had courtyards, three-storeyed pavilions, towers, gates and were crowned by cupolas with hanging bells. The doors and windows, pillars and beams have bas relieves (sculptures in guilded copper).
A team of archaeologists has found four Buddhist monastery seals made of terracotta, which date back to thousand years and it is totally similar to the seals, which were found at the ruins of Nalanda University. The monastery seals are bearing the inscriptions – “Sri Prathamshivpur Mahavihariyaye Bikshu Sanghas” – in Pali language that indicated the university’s real name. Finding of northern black polished ware during the latest round of excavation suggests the monastery is much older and the findings of the excavation also suggest that the site might have been flooded and regained its importance during the Kushan period (1st century AD).
“There was a 4-metre-thick layer of sand just above the layer in which northern black polished ware was found. It suggests flooding of the site and sprinklers made of clay, which were an exclusive specialty of the Kushan period, were found in the layer above the sand,” said Atul Kumar Verma, director of state archaeology, who led the excavation team at Telhara.
It is said the mahavihara or university was built by one of the descendents of Magadha ruler Bimbisara. Nalanda University was set on fire by Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. During the excavation work, the team members stumbled upon a 1.5-foot-thick layer of ash, suggesting that Telhara University was also burnt by Khilji on his way.
India has a long and venerable history in the field of higher education. In ancient times, the country was known to have been home to the oldest formal universities in the world. Takshashila university is considered as oldest known university in the world which date back to the 6th century BC.
Source: Telegraph | The Hindu Mysteries of India.com

Krishna’s Butter Ball – A Balancing Rock at Mahabalipuram. Krishna’s butterball is monolithic granite rock found in Mahabalipuram, India. Its original name is Vaan Irai Kal. In Tamil language, the original language of the land, it means “Stone of The Sky God“.
With its width almost equal to its height, it is looks spherical in some angles but not a perfect sphere. 20 feet high and 5 meter wide rock estimated to weigh over 250 tons miraculously stands on an extremely small, slippery area of a hill. The rock is balanced upon a 4 feet area of the hill and is perilously resting at an angle of 45 degrees. The base of the rock is firmly attached to the hill below. This rock is bigger and heavier than the monolithic stones of Ollantaytambo, Peru. It is also much bigger than the rocks found in the mysterious Machu Picchu.
In Hindu mythology Lord Krishna had an insatiable appetite for butter, and as a child, would often sneak a handful from his mother’s butter jar. Situated on a hill slope near the Ganesh Ratha this massive natural rock boulder is attributed to a bolus of butter the young Krishna would steal
It’s a common sight to see visitors placing hands under the stone posing for pics, which looks as though they are holding it! The rock provides welcome shade if you dare to sit underneath it, and local kids have discovered that the slippery nearby hillside also makes a great natural slide.
The rock is believed to be naturally formed but theorists believe a natural formation such as this is highly improbable, as natural corrosion could not have brought upon such a shape. There has been a lot of debate how this enormous rock ended up on the hill. Even in modern days, moving a 250 ton rock uphill would be a very difficult task and require complex equipment such as cranes. How did the people do it thousands of years ago? Several attempts to move the rock have been made, but none of them has been successful. In 1908 the Governor of Madras (Chennai) Arthur Lawley thought that this rock was too dangerous and would slide off the hill and cause harm to people and houses nearby. So he ordered it to be moved with help of seven elephants. However, the rock did not move an inch and the Indian government gave up leaving Krishna’s Butter Ball where it is now.
This mysterious rock raises a number of unanswered questions. How does a 250 ton rock stand on less than 4 feet base? Is there something hidden underneath? If it was impossible to push this rock downhill, how was it pushed up the hill? Who or what put the rock on this slope? Why is the name of the rock related to Sky Gods?
Was the “Stone of The Sky God” placed on the hill by giants, or heavenly gods who wanted to show their strength? Could this superior ancient technology be of extraterrestrial origin?
Krishna’s butter ball stands alone on this hill, boasting of its majestic stature and is a testimony to the limits of our modern technical superiority. No matter who placed Krishna’s Butter Ball here, it will be reminder that our understanding of history is incomplete.
Mystery of India.com

Ancient Vedic Science: Hydrology in Ancient India. Natural entities and forces, such as Sun, Earth, Rivers, Ocean, Wind, Water, etc. have been worshipped in India as Gods since time immemorial. Perhaps it is not a sheer coincidence that the King of these Gods is Indra, the God of Rain. Clearly, ancient Indians were aware of the importance of rain and other hydrologic variables for the society. The ancient Indian literature contains numerous references to hydrology and a reading of it suggests that those people knew the basic concepts of hydrological processes and measurements. Important concepts of modern hydrology are scattered in various verses of Vedas, Puranas, Meghmala, Mahabharat, Mayurchitraka, Vrhat Sanhita and other ancient Indian works.
Hydrologic Cycle The Vedic texts which are more than 3,000 years old contain valuable references on hydrologic cycle. The most important concepts, on which the modern science of hydrology is founded, are scattered in Vedas in various verses which are in the form of hymns and prayers addressed to various deities. Likewise, other Sanskrit literature has valuable discourses regarding hydrology. Atisthanteenam viveshnanam kashthanam madhyaey nihitam shareeram, Bratrasya nidyam vi varantyapo deerghatam aashaydindrashatruha. Verse I, 32, 10 says that the water is never stationary, but it continuously gets evaporated and due to smallness of particles we cannot see the upgoing water particles. In the Varahamihira’s Vraht Sanhita (550 A.D.), three Chapters are devoted to hydrometeorology comprising Pregnancy of clouds, Pregnancy of air and quantity of rainfall. Slokas 1 and 2 of Dakargelam (Chapter 54 of Vraht Samhita) state the importance of science of ground water exploration which helps man to ascertain the existence of water. These are as follows: Dharmyam yashashyam va vadabhaytoham dakargalam yen jaloplabdhiha Punsam yathagdeshu shirastathaiva chhitavapi pronnatnimnasanstha. Ekayna vardayna rasayna chambhyashchyutam namasto vasudha vishayshanta Nana rastvam bahuvarnatam cha gatam pareekshyam chhititulyamayva.
The water veins beneath the earth are like vein’s in the human body, some higher and some lower. The water falling from sky assumes various colours and tastes from differences in the nature of the earth.
In Linga Purana a full fledged chapter (I, 36) has been devoted to the science of hydrology. It scientifically explains evaporation, condensation, rainfall with suitable examples and says that the water cannot be destroyed, only its state is changed: Dandhaymanayshu charachayshu godhoombhootastvabha nishkramantee Ya ya oordhva mastraynayrita vai tastastvabhamyagnivayucha. Ato dhoomagnivatanam sanyogstavamuchyatay Vareeni varshteetyabhrambhrasyeshah sahastradrik.
i.e. “after being heated by sun, water contained in most of the materials on earth gets converted to smoke (vapour) and ascends to sky with the air and subsequently gets converted to cloud. Thus the combination of smoke, fire and air is the cause of cloud formation. These clouds cause rainfall under the guidance of Lord Indra, having thousand eyes.
Vayu (51. 14-15-16) states like this: Aadityapateetam suryaganeha somam sankramatay jalam Nadeebhirvayuyuktabhirlokadhanam pravartatay. Yatsomatstravatay surya tadbhayshvavatishthatay Megha vayunighatain visrajant jalam bhuvi. Evamutikshapyatay chaiva patatay cham punarjalam Na nashmu udkasyasti tadev parivartatay.
i.e. the water evaporated by sun ascends to atmosphere through the capillarity of air, and there gets cooled and condensed. After formation of clouds it rains by the force of air. Thus, water is not lost in all these processes but gets converted from one form to other continuously. Verses of Rigveda (I, 27.6; I, 32.8): Vibhaktasi chitrabhano sindhoroorma upak aa Sagho dashushay chharasi. Nadam na bhinnamuya shayanam mano ruhana atim yantyapah Yashchidwatro mahina paryatishthattasamhih patsutah shirbbhoova.
This verse explains that all water that goes to the sky with wind by the heat of Sun rays gets converted to clouds and then again after the penetration by sunrays it rains and gets stored into rivers, ponds, ocean, etc.
Surface Water
Efficient water use, lining of canals, construction of dams, tanks, essential requirements for the construction of good tanks, bank protection methods, spillways and other minor aspects were given due consideration in ancient times in India. Well organized water pricing system was prevalent during the time of Chanakya (mentor and prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya). Various references are available in the Vedas emphasizing the importance of efficient water use so as to reduce the intensity of water scarcity and drought, etc.
Verses (184. 15–17) of Mahabharata state that the plants drink water through their roots. The mechanism of water uptake by plants is explained by the example of water rise through a pipe. It is said that the water uptake process is facilitated by the conjunction of air. This clearly reveals the knowledge of capillary action of soil in the movement of water up and down the plant.
Two Mantras of Atharvaveda say that if the water source is on mountains, then the river formed will be perennial and will flow with high speed. It also say that the rivers originating from snowclad mountains will keep on flowing in summers also.
Ground Water People also developed technique of knowing the slope of an area by means of a flowing river. Variation in the height of water table with place, hot and cold springs, ground water utilization by means of wells, well construction methods and equipment are fully described in 54th chapter of Vrhat Sanhita named as ‘Dakargala’. Sun rays, wind, humidity, vegetation, etc., as the major causes of evapotranspiration were well realized. The Vishnu Purana (II, 5.3) classified the soils of subterranean region in seven categories, (i) Black (2) White or Yellowish (3) Blue or Red (4) Yellow (5) Gravelly (6) Hilly or boulder and (7) Golden hued. Regarding the occurrence of ground water, it says: “If there is a termite mound nearby to the east of a Jambu tree, plenty of sweet water, yielding for a long time occurs at a depth of two Purushas, at a distance of three hastas (cubit) to the south of the tree. Similarly, an Arjuna tree with a termite mound to the north shows water at a depth of 3.5 Purushas at a distance of 3 hastas to the west”.
Hydro-meteorology In Vedic age, Indians had developed the concept that water gets divided into minute particles due to the effect of sunrays and wind. In various places in Puranas, it is stated that water cannot be created or destroyed, only its state is changed in various phases of the hydrologic cycle. Evaporation, condensation, cloud formation, precipitation and its measurement were well understood in India in Vedic times.
Effects of Yajna, forests, reservoirs, etc. on rainfall; classification of clouds, their colour, rainfall capacity, etc.; forecasting of rainfall on the basis of natural phenomena, such as colour of sky, clouds, wind direction, lightening, and the activities of animals; all these were well developed in India even before the 10th century B.C. Contrivance to measure rainfall was developed during the time of Chanakya (4th century B.C.) which had the same principle as that of modern hydrology except that the weight measure of Drona was adopted instead of modern depth measurement of rainfall.
The knowledge of monsoon winds and height of clouds along with the division of atmosphere was well developed in the Vedic age. “O cloud-bearing winds, your troops are rich in water, they are strengtheners of life, and are your strong bonds, they shed water and augment food, and are harnessed with waves that wander far and spread everywhere. Combined with lightning, the triple-group (of wind, cloud and lightning) roars aloud, and the water falls upon the earth.”
By the time of Chanakya (4th century B.C.), Indians had developed the method and instrumental devices for measuring rainfall. This raingauge was known as Varshaman. Chanakya describes its construction in these words “In front of the store house, a bowel (Kunda) with its mouth as wide as an aratni (nearly 18 inches) shall be set up as rain gauge”. Chanakya was acquainted with the distribution of rainfall in various areas. He furnishes a very accurate scientific description of the same with statistics. The quantity of rain that falls in the country of Jangala (desert countries) is 16 dronas (4 Adak = 1 drona and one adak equals nearly 7 lb, 11 oz), half as much in moist countries (the countries which are fit for agriculture), 13.5 dronas in the countries of Asmakas (Maharashtra); 23 dronas in Avanti, and an immense quantity in the western countries, the border of the Himalayas and the countries where water channels are used in agriculture. From this it is evident that the spirit of the methodology of the measurement of rainfall given by Chanakya is the same as we have today, the only difference is that he expresses it in weight measures while we use a linear measure nowadays.
Further discussing the geographical details of rainfall, he observes “when one third of the requisite quantity of rain falls both during the commencement and closing months of the rainy season, and two third in the middle, then the rainfall is considered very even.” Discussing the classification of clouds and interrelationship of rainfall and agriculture, the celebrated author adds “there are the clouds which continuously rain for seven days; eighty are they that pour minute drops; and sixty are they that appear with the sunshine”. When rain, free from wind and unmingled with sunshine falls so as to render three turns of ploughing possible, then the reaping of good harvest is certain.
The Vrhat Sanhita and Mayuracitraka by Varahamihira are two very important treatises which are replete with climatological and meteorological information, although they abound in astrological guesses, they contain sufficient scientific facts also. The Vrhat Samhita has three chapters (21st, 22nd, and 23rd_ on climatology and meteorology.
The Jains have made considerable contribution in the field of meteorology. The ‘Prajnapana’ and ‘Avasyaka Curnis’ provide outstanding studies of the various types of winds. This tradition must have been far older than these treatises. The ‘Prajnapana’ makes reference of snowfall and hailstorm.
The ‘Trilokasara’ of Nemichandra says that there are seven types of periodic clouds. They rain for seven days each in the rainy season. Then there are twelve species of white clouds. They also bring rain for seven days each. Thus the season of rainfall extends over 133 days in all.
Buddhists too, at least before 400 B.C., have attempted at a very scientific classification of clouds and four species mentioned by them can be compared with the most important four species enumerated in modern meteorology. So much of subtle observation at such an early date is an achievement of the finest order.
Water Purification It is very interesting to learn that Varahamihira in as early as 550 AD presented a simple method for obtaining potable water from a contaminated source of water. Various plant materials along with solar heating, aeration, quenching of water with fire heated stones, gold, silver, iron or sand were suggested for this purpose. The change in the quality of water with the months of year and suitability of water from different sources for various uses were described.
End of article.
Source: Excerpted from the book “Hydrology and Water Resources in Ancient India”
Mystery of India

The Great Indian Museum in Kolkata.
The Indian Museum (Bengali: ভারতীয় যাদুঘর) is the largest and oldest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, in 1814. The founder curator was Dr Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.
Standing in the heart of the Calcutta city near on the Jawaharlal Street, this mammoth building... has a case filled with surprises and the old age documentaries. Welcome to a place where the dinosaurs stand in silence and the paintings wait to have a chat. It seems as if you are entering a huge Castle with the old age coming out from all the corners. Its a feeling which one can experience only if he/she is here.

The Calcutta Indian Museum has been divided into six sections - Archeology, anthropology, geology, zoology, industry and art. All of them have a special place, as they have the uniqueness of being there. It takes at least 3 DAYS to see the entire Museum. Anthropology Section : The Mohenjodaros, Harrapans reside here. The coins, clothings, gateway of Buddha Stupa, and the 4000 yrs old Egyptian Mummy stand tall here, telling the stories of the past. Its a place which takes you ages back.

» Geological Section : Meteoroids, building stones, fossils, rocks and minerals cover this area. There are 8,000 of them giving a call. There is a portion dealing with fossils and taxidermy.
» Zoological Section : Fish, reptiles, mammals, reptiles and skeleton of mammoth (Don't forget to see the huge skeleton of the real dinosaur which covers the entire room and is the main attraction).
» Industrial Section : Cottage industry, medicine, forestry, agriculture - botanical specimens of all these can be found here.
» Art Gallery : It contains Indian and Persian style paintings and silken Tibetan temple banners.http://www.famous-india.com/museums/indian-museum.html
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Prabalgad Fort – The Most Dangerous Fortress
Prabalgad Fort, also known as Kalavantin Durg, is located between Panvel and Matheran in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The structure is built at a height of 2300 feet on top of a plateau which is located close to Matheran. Previously, the fort was known as Muranjan until it was taken over and renamed by the Maratha forces under Shivaji’s rule.
This fort is built of granite stones cut from the same hills. The bonding materials us...ed here is the commonly used lime stone. It has got thick and strong walls, which are still not weathered off. The fort contains a temple to Ganesh and some stone ruins. On the inner part, there are many small and medium complexes found here. It does have watch towers on its top.

The fort can be approached via a chillingly steep climb. The steps leading up to the fort were cut into the rock of the hill. There are no safety rails on the edge and no ropes on the wall to grab on to. The origins of Prabalgad Fort are unknown but it is believed to have been built during the time of Buddha or in or around 500 BC for a queen named Kalavantin. It is a bit saddening for an explorer to know that this is the only information locals can give and so many marvels and mysteries of the fort have died without leaving a record behind. Around 1458 Malik Ahmad, the prime minister of the kingdom of Ahmednagar, took over the fort during his conquest of Konkan. After the collapse of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Mughals took control of Prabalgad along with Kalyan, Mahuli, Karnala and a number of other forts. In the 1657 AD, the great Maratha King Shivaji Maharaj won this region with a great battle with the Mughals and took over this fort. At the time of the attack the fort was governed by Kesar Singh, a Mughal sardar, and was the only fort to put up a strong resistance. On seeing the signs of defeat the women in the fort performed Jauhar, a tradition of self immolation to ensure an honorable and respectful death. Kesar Singh died during the battle in October 1657, Shivaji in an act of kindness allowed Kesar Singh’s mother and her grandchild a safe passage out.
Soon after the decline of the Maratha Kingdom and the advent of British rule made many Indian to revolt against the British. As such one of the first men who protested against the British was Umaji Naik Khomane. He is belied to occupy this palace and was residing here mostly as a hideout place from 1826 AD to 1832 AD. Prabalgad consists of a sister fort which is named Irshalgad Fort. It is situated in the vicinity of the main fort and is comparatively smaller in area. However there are numerous water reservoirs that were cut from rock. From the top of the fort one can see Peb, Chanderi, Karnala and Irshalgad forts. The City of Mumbai is also visible and catching a bird’s eye view of the surrounding makes one wonder how people must have built such a marvelous structure with simple tools.
Mystery of India.com

Stonehenge of Manipur
Located at a distance of 39 kilometers from the Maram Village in Manipur, Willong Khullen is characterized by its numerous stone erections which are similar to the Stonehenge. The tallest of the stones are as high as 7 meters and are about a meter in thickness. The place is located on the slopes of the valley and offers a serene picnic and resting spot for the travelers. It is said that the stones are uncountable as there is a spirit that would confuse y...ou midway while counting.

According to local villager, these giant stone structures were ercted by their forefathers and this megalithic structures has a close connection with the mythology of the area. Each Stones has a unique story. They also believe that all the stones have their own name and they ‘really talk’ to each other at night. In male’s voice, each stone called one another with their names such as ‘Kala’, ‘Kanga’, ‘Hila’, etc. Villagers explained that only a man of exceptional strength and power can think of erecting a stone at the site. He would have to go and find a suitable stone from a far off place and the villagers would assist him in bringing the stone to the village. Before bringing the stone to the village, the man have to fast for one whole night and perform a ritual by offering wine before the stone. Only after getting a favourable nod from the stone, he would be allowed to lift it from the original place. If the man found any difficult in lifting the stone then the villagers would sing a special folk song to bring it to Katak Tukhum area.
According to villagers, none could count the exact number of stones that have been erected at Katak Tukhum area. There is also a folk tale about a Japanese, who challenged to count the number of stones but had to retreat after a white wild boar chased him away from the place.
Even today, there is still a giant stone at the outskirt of the village which the villagers regarded it as sent by God to mark the demarcation of Willong village.
But with the passage of time, such tradition and culture of the Marams seem to be moving away. Fortunately there is still a microscopic minority among the Marams who have been bonding with their ancestral practices and beliefs. Because of this group of people we are indeed grateful in capturing a glimpse of the bygone remnants